Cabarrus commissioners fire 2nd manager this year — this time after just 5 months
Cabarrus County commissioners voted Monday night to fire County Manager Sean Newton after just five months on the job.
The motion was made by Commissioner Lynn Shue and was supported by commissioners Kenny Wortman and Jeff Jones. Commissioner Laura Blackwell Lindsey, who voted against firing Newton, said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer the decision was a “witch hunt” and “political retaliation” against other members of the board for firing longtime former County Manager Mike Downs earlier this year.
“ I was given no details on the ‘reasons’. There was no warning,” she said. “They simply walked in and terminated him with a fictitious cause.”
Lindsey said in the closed session Newton said he would resign himself if the commission gave him some time to find another job and was not given any warning or progress plans prior to his abrupt firing.
Wortman and Shue tried unsuccessfully to fire the just-hired Newton at a meeting in March after it was revealed he had an undisclosed business relationship with then-Chair Chris Measmer.
Measmer left the county board to fill a vacancy in the North Carolina Senate shortly after Newton’s hiring.
“As we discussed in closed session, this is not a pleasant thing for me. Never was when I owned my own business, I just don’t like doing things like this,” Shue said Monday evening after commissioners returned from a private meeting. “But I’m going to make a motion tonight that we terminate our County Manager Sean Newton, with cause, effective immediately.”
In an interview with the Observer, Wortman declined to explain why the commission fired Newton, citing closed session laws. He said it was necessary, even though it may make the county look bad.
“There was no high fives going on, it sucks, nobody wants to have to do that to somebody,” Wortman said. “Does it look bad for the county? Absolutely, 100%. And whoever eventually takes a spot is going to see that we’ve been through two county managers in seven months. Doesn’t look good.”
Newton is the second Cabarrus County manager to be fired this year, and his time with the county has not been without controversy.
Just a week after hiring Newton, the Observer reported he and Measmer had a joint business enterprise from 2016 to 2019, according to reports from the North Carolina Secretary of State. Though the business was dissolved in 2019, Wortman said the lack of transparency was worrisome.
Measmer ultimately denied he did anything illegal or was trying to hide the business relationship and the vote to fire Newton failed.
Newton was hired in March after the commission voted to fire Downs in a seemingly sudden move. The decision to fire Downs was 3-1, with Wortman in dissent and calling the move “political.” In the termination letter obtained by The Charlotte Observer, the county cited Downs’ involvement with the $42 million purchase of an office building as a “critical failure.”
County spokesperson Jonathan Weaver said Newton was not given a termination letter.
Downs filed a lawsuit against the county claiming he hadn’t received $488,000 worth of severance and other compensation since he was fired. The lawsuit is still pending, and a hearing is scheduled for later this month after the county made a motion to dismiss the case.
Jones is a newcomer to the commission, appointed by the Cabarrus County Clerk of Court in May, and served as the tiebreaking vote to fire Newton on a board that had previously been tied on contentious issues like personnel matters. Jones said in his first meeting as commissioner he knew he would have to be the swing vote moving forward.
Lindsey said in her statement Jones was supposed to bring unity to the divided board and his decision to fire Newton did not align with that goal.
“Where is the unity?... What was so egregious that he had to be fired without affording him the ability find a new job?” she said. “Instead of creating stability, the unelected Jeff Jones was the deciding vote to oust an amazing county manager.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 9:56 AM.
